By Jack Queen
Jan 28 (Reuters) – A Minnesota federal judge on Wednesday canceled a contempt of court hearing for acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief Todd Lyons after the agency complied with an order to release a wrongly detained Ecuadorean man, but the judge warned he could hold ICE leaders in contempt if the agency continues to flout court orders.
Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz in Minneapolis had ordered acting ICE director Todd Lyons to appear in court to explain his agency’s failure to comply with nearly 100 court orders during President Donald Trump’s controversial immigration enforcement surge.
The hearing could have been damaging to ICE and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as they grapple with lawsuits and the fallout of two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens by ICE agents in Minnesota.
Schiltz said on Wednesday that he remained concerned by ICE’s failure to comply with 96 court orders in 74 cases – what he said was likely an undercount – and warned he could hold ICE leaders in contempt of court if they failed to fix the problem.
“ICE is not a law unto itself. ICE has every right to challenge the orders of this court, but, like any litigant, ICE must follow those orders unless and until they are overturned or vacated,” Schiltz said in an order.
The Trump administration sent thousands of immigration agents to Minneapolis and Saint Paul beginning in December in what officials described as an operation to enforce immigration laws and stop fraud.
Minnesota’s Democratic leaders have accused Trump of flooding the streets of those cities with armed agents out of animus for their Democratic political leanings, and as part of his feud with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
Trump and Walz on Monday said they spoke by phone about de-escalating tensions in Minnesota following weeks of protests and the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by ICE agents.
The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office is suing to block the surge or rein in ICE tactics, accusing agents of racially profiling citizens, making unlawful stops and arrests and sowing fear in communities.
The Trump administration has said the operation is lawful. A judge has yet to rule on the state’s request.
(Reporting by Jack Queen in New YorkEditing by Bill Berkrot and Matthew Lewis)
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